We’re heading into the final weekend of regular season action! This will be my last Roto Riteup of the year, and I’d just like to thank the readers for your time and for your comments. You guys rock.
On today’s agenda:
1. Jerad Eickhoff cruises
2. Welcome back, Maikel Franco
3. Chris Carter is socking dingers
4. Streaming Pitching Options
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If I’m late getting to any comments today, I apologize. I’ll be on the road a bit headed to/from from Chicago.
On today’s agenda:
1. Ryan Zimmerman calls it a season
2. Quick Adam Wainwright update
3. Miami shuts down Giancarlo Stanton
4. Streaming Pitching Options
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Today’s Roto Riteup was penned while a number of episodes of The West Wing played in the background.
On today’s agenda:
1. Adam Wainwright to return tomorrow?
2. Quick Sonny Gray follow-up
3. Angels rotation shakeup
4. Streaming Pitching Options
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Today marks the 14th anniversary of Zoolander being released. The line “But why male models?” slays me to this day, and I still slip it into conversation from time to time.
On today’s agenda:
1. Ryan Braun’s season is over
2. Sonny Gray’s hip injury
3. Quick thoughts on Ender Inciarte
4. Streaming Pitching Options
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Yesterday was the 18th anniversary of Blink-182’s Dammit (warning: language) being released. If that doesn’t make you feel old, I don’t know what will. Now get off my lawn while I listen to my vinyl and then go to bed at 9:30.
On today’s agenda:
1. Delino DeShields Jr. continues to hit
2. That’s a wrap for Hanley Ramirez
3. Looking at Asdrubal Cabrera’s strong second half
4. Streaming Pitching Options
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I began reading The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins the other day. So far it’s been a very fast read, and one that grabs your attention. I’m not yet done with it, so please don’t spoil anything in the comments, but man, it’s been outstanding thus far.
On today’s agenda:
1. Jonathan Lucroy’s pending return
2. Time to drop Carlos Gomez
3. Andrew Cashner and I set personal bests
4. Streaming Pitching Options
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Today the Tottenham Hotspurs — and noted goal scorer Son Heung-min — square off against Arsenal in the League Cup. I doubt many normal starters open the game on the field, but perhaps Son will come on as a sub and score in his third consecutive game.
On today’s agenda:
1. Some good news for Yadier Molina
2. Matt Moore’s strong start (again)
3. Billy Hamilton’s season ends
4. Streaming Pitching Options
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I’m late to the Rick and Morty party, but man, that show slays me. My favorite episode thus far is probably Meseeks and Destroy, though Total Rickall is a pretty outstanding story too.
On today’s agenda:
1. Yadier Molina’s busted thumb
2. The Good Samardzija shows up
3. Streaming Pitching Options
Yadier Molina’s busted thumb
If it seems like the Cardinals have been hit with a lot of injuries lately, you wouldn’t be wrong. Between Matt Holliday still nursing a hamstring to Randal Grichuk’s shoulder woes and Matt Adams still not playing full games in the field, the Cards starting position players are pretty banged up. Adding Molina to the list of injured players is the latest, and arguably one of the gravest. He’s caught 134 games — of which he started 131 — however given his torn ligament in left thumb, we may have seen the last of Molina until the playoffs. For fellow Yadi owners scrambling for a replacement, I just picked up Tom Murphy. After his home run on Monday, Murphy is up to 22 dingers on the year between Double-A, Triple-A and the bigs. Don’t count on great rate stats from him, however playing at home this week gives him a chance to shine in Coors Field. After this home stint the Rockies are on the road in another hitter friendly park in Arizona then San Francisco to wrap up the season, so other than the final series, he’s hitting in favorable parks. Murphy is available in 98 percent of CBS formats and over 99 percent of Yahoo! or ESPN leagues.
The Good Samardzija shows up
After scuffling through a lot of innings this year, Jeff Samardzija pitched a gem in the opener of a double-header in Detroit. He allowed a lone hit and zero walks to go with six strikeouts during his complete game shutout. The Shark needed just 88 pitches to finish the nine innings, with 10 pitches going for swinging strikes. Even with the terrific outing he owns a modest 5.04 ERA/4.18 FIP/4.30 xFIP on the year, and while you can’t expect only one of 22 balls in play to fall for a hit every start, it’s at least a good sign from Samardzija after he tossed five clunker starts in a row. Unfortunately the remaining schedule for him doesn’t get any easier as he’ll pitch in Yankee Stadium in his next start before hosting a rematch against the Tigers in Chicago for his season finale. For a more complete breakdown of his season, be sure to check out Mike Podhorzer’s write up of Samardzija from last week.
Streaming Pitching Options
If you enjoy streaming pitchers or play DFS, tune into the Roto Riteup for recommendations each and every day.
A pitcher for today: Robbie Ray at LAD (Alex Wood)
The Dodger offense looks good against lefties on the year, however they’ve been pretty average in the second half. I like Ray’s changeup and yeah, he burned me in his previous start, yet I’m still confident he’ll gets some whiffs and be effective today. He’s a bit of a risky start, but Ray is available in 70 percent of CBS settings and more than 90 percent of ESPN or Yahoo! formats.
A pitcher for tomorrow: Marcus Stroman vs NYY (Ivan Nova)
Ain’t no brakes on the Stroman hype train! For some reason he’s still unowned in half of CBS leagues, 60 percent of ESPN formats and 70 percent of Yahoo! settings. The Yanks have a strong offense, but I’m breaking character and going with a “momentum” pick here. It helps that Stroman is pretty darn good.
Yesterday Son Heung-min scored his first two goals for Tottenham. Sure it was in the UEFA Europa League and not the Premier League, but still. Via UnitedFaxMachine from Reddit — which is a 10/10 name given the David de Gea transfer fail — we have Son’s first goal and his second.
On today’s agenda:
1. Bad news for Jung-ho Kang
2. Matt Moore’s strong outing
3. Welcome back, Jorge Soler
4. Streaming Pitching Options
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Well, Chelsea won their Champions League opener, however Arsenal didn’t. I guess that makes it a good-but-not-grand day.
On today’s agenda:
1. Joe Panik placed on 60-day disabled list
2. A two-dinger day for Jayson Werth
3. Joe Kelly’s shoulder issue
4. Streaming Pitching Options
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